LLB Tort Law - Practice Paper 2

ClearView Windows Ltd contracts with Oakwood School to clean the school windows during term time. Ben, a ClearView employee, leaves his ladder unattended in the school playground during the lunch break. Charlie, aged 7, climbs the ladder and falls, breaking his arm. Diana, a teaching assistant, rushes to help Charlie and trips over the ladder, spraining her ankle. Charlie's mother, Emma, receives a phone call from the school and drives there immediately. Upon arrival 20 minutes later, she sees Charlie crying with his arm in a makeshift sling and becomes hysterical, later developing an anxiety disorder. Advise Charlie (through his parents), Diana, and Emma on their potential claims, identifying all possible defendants.

Assess the current state of the law on pure economic loss in negligence. Is the restrictive approach in Murphy v Brentwood District Council [1991] justified?

Roger owns a large estate bordering a housing development. He decides to build a large bonfire on his land to burn garden waste. The fire produces thick smoke that drifts over the housing development for three days. Several residents complain of sore eyes and breathing difficulties. Sally, who lives adjacent to Roger's land and suffers from asthma, has a severe asthma attack requiring hospitalisation. Thomas, a resident five houses away, claims the smoke has stained his white-painted fence. Roger argues that he has always burned garden waste on his land and that the prevailing wind direction was unusual. Advise the residents.

Evaluate the law on breach of duty in negligence, with particular reference to the Bolam test for professional negligence and its qualification in Bolitho. Has the law achieved an appropriate standard for professional defendants?

GreenGrow Farms uses pesticides on its crops. During a heavy rainstorm, pesticide-contaminated water runs off GreenGrow's land into a stream that feeds into a reservoir supplying drinking water to the nearby town. The water company, AquaPure Ltd, has to shut down the reservoir for decontamination, costing £200,000. Several residents in the town experience nausea from drinking contaminated water before the shutdown. Vera, a beekeeper whose hives are adjacent to GreenGrow's land, loses her entire colony of bees worth £15,000 due to pesticide exposure. GreenGrow argues that it followed all industry-standard practices for pesticide application and that the rainstorm was unusually severe. Advise AquaPure, the affected residents, and Vera.